by
Sean Ruck, Contributing Editor | March 28, 2014
From the March 2014 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
To date, more than 100,000 PLDD procedures have been performed worldwide. Proponents of the technique say the benefits are that it’s minimally invasive, requires only local anesthesia and results in a shorter recovery time.
Detractors question its use over other treatments or in some cases, its use rather than no treatment at all. “Does everyone with a backache need to have their discs decompressed?” asks Lanzafame. “There’s a school of thought that believes many issues will resolve themselves with rest, exercise or other lifestyle adjustments. If the surgeon says you need surgery because you’re overweight, that doesn’t exactly mean you need it. If the surgeon says you need an operation because you have a foot drop, or something similar, you’d do well to listen.”
For those that might be helped by the surgery, the choice of doctor can be a challenge because there’s debate over which laser wavelength is best-suited to perform the procedure, with holmium, diodes and greenlight lasers all available as options.
And lasers are being investigated as options for other treatments according to Elad Benjamin, vice president and general manager for Lumenis Surgical Business Unit. Of particular interest is the use of lasers for laparoscopy procedures and scar prevention treatment, says Benjamin.
Last year, DOTmed News reported on another promising use — laser treatment for epileptic seizures (see last year’s story www.dotmed.com/news/ 21505/).
Ultimately, whether lasers will supplant existing technology, or just be an option for surgeons, still remains to be seen. “Lasers are tools,” says Lanzafame. “But for a lot of things, the
‘right tool’ is a personal perception.”
DOTmed Registered HCBN March 2014 Lasers Companies
Names in boldface are Premium Listings.
Domestic
John Yorke, LaserMedix, NY
STEVE SELTZER, REQUIP MEDICAL, OH
Eric Graham, Phase 2 Laser - Powered by Sentient, UT
Troy Johnson, Allure Aesthetics, Inc., CA
International
Andrew Howe, Excel Lasers Limited, United Kingdom
Dan Kongsted, Cervius Medical, Denmark
Wouter Kelderman, Dutch Optical, Netherlands
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